The Beast's Beauty
by Kandy-Sugar
Summary: [COMPLETE] Chapter 12: The ending to the Beast's Beauty. Hopefully satisfactory.
1. Chapter 1: The Stranger

**The Beast's Beauty**

**Chapter 1: The Stranger**

It was a dark and stormy night at the castle. Window shutters were slamming against the castle walls so violently, that every time you heard it, a pang of fright made the blood rush through your entire body.

Belle and her prince were snuggled up tightly in their king sized bed. The prince was used to this kind of storm, as he had slept through them every night since his transformation. However he could not sleep this night. For this was the first time in so many years that he was once again human and had a beautiful woman in bed with him. The storm seemed to be a reminder of what he once was and what he never used to have. He "was" a beast without "love". He lay there with his head against his pillow, staring at the painted ceiling in his bed next to Belle, thinking of the night that he was transformed and how it all started with a ... **"Knock, knock, knock!"**

The prince suddenly shot up out of bed breathing quickly. _Was he imagining it? Was there someone at the door?_ He looked down at Belle, sleeping quietly, with a slight smile playing on her lips. He came out of his trance. He looked over at his grandfather clock, which was standing a few metres away against the wall at the end of his bed. 12.00am. Exactly midnight. He quietly got out of his bed, and removed the sheets slowly, so as not to disturb Belle.

Quietly he tiptoed down the cold hard stairs, moving into the shadows whenever possible. He was so used to hiding in the shadows that he had not yet gotten out of the habit. He swiftly moved into the darkness of the shadows near the doorway and peered outside the door through a crack.

All he could see was darkness. Then a flash of lightening appeared to have transported a handsome looking, soaking wet man upon his front doorstep. _For one minute there was nothing then the light showed everything._

The prince went to tell the man to leave, but stopped as soon as his hand reached the doorknob. The night of his first transformation flashed before his eyes. Then **"Knock, knock, knock!"**

The man knocked once again.

The prince slowly opened the door, trying to make as little noise as possible. But he couldn't help that the door creaked on its hinges when it opened. He was afraid that he would wake Belle.

The prince's next action was, "Hello, how may I help you sir?"

The man just stared at the prince with beady-black eyes and said bluntly, "You may let me in from this cursed weather."

"Why of course," said the prince politely, and stepped back from the door a few steps so as to let the man in. The man stepped into the castle with one huge stride and looked around the castle without even thanking the prince. He stood there motionlessly with his back to the prince, letting the water drip from his soaked body.

"May I get you anything? A towel, tea..." the prince started off to break the awkward silence, but was then cut off by the stranger who interrupted by saying, "I am perfectly alright thankyou, I can look after myself. Just show me to your nearest fireplace so that I may dry off." His still had his back facing the prince.

"Certainly." Said the prince who looked away with a look of confusion on his face. _He thought that this man was just a little too strange for his liking. He then wondered if he had done the right thing by letting him in._ Just as the prince was about to show the man into the next room on their right, Belle appeared at the top of the stairs and was tying her night robe around her.

"Is everything alright, - oh dear," she said as soon as she saw the man. "You look awfully wet sir, come, warm yourself by the fire. Sweetie why didn't you offer our guest some tea or a towel to dry off? I'm sure that Mrs Potts wouldn't have minded to get up." She said in a rather concerned way as she led the man into the next room.

"Actually Belle I..." the prince was once again cut off by the stranger, who said to Belle in a polite manner, "Why thankyou mam, now that you mention it I would love a cup of tea."

The prince just looked at the man who in return stared right back. _What was his game _thought the prince; _surely he must be in a state of shock or something other than his usual self. He couldn't possibly be turning against me intentionally._

The prince followed Belle and the man into the next room, but he waited at the door with his arms crossed and looked on. Belle had taken off her night robe and had given it to the man to dry himself with. The prince watched this and felt a feeling that he didn't think he'd ever felt before, but he knew what it was called, "Jealousy."

The prince spoke up at this and said calmly, "Belle honey, why don't you go back upstairs to bed and I'll fix our guest with his needs."

"No it's fine sweetie, you go back to bed, I'll be up in a little while." said Belle without looking at the prince.

"I'd prefer it if I was to stay here Belle, it doesn't seem right if I go to bed while your down here."

The man was watching this conversation with great interest, but had a look of distaste every time the prince spoke.

The prince noticed this and tried to ignore it, as he was afraid that he would lose his temper and then there would be consequences afterwards.

Belle finally said, "Okay, I'll go to bed." She walked over to the door of the room where the prince stood then spun around to say to the man, "If you need anything, don't be afraid to ask me."

The man smiled mischievously at Belle and made sure the prince saw and replied, "Oh don't you worry, I'm not a shy person."

Belle giggled a little and said, "Goodnight," she then looked over at the clock hanging above the fireplace and said, "Or should I say good morning?" (By now it was 12:20am).

The man replied with, "Call it whatever you will, for it seems that night and day belong to you and the sun will rise when you awake next and the moon will only shine when you become sleepy."

Belle giggled once again and said, "You are most certainly charming kind sir."

She smiled at the man one last time then turned to the prince, who looked like he would sooner knock the man out then have Belle listen to his poetic voice.

She yawned and with sleepy eyes said, "See you in the morning my love." And gave the prince a kiss on his flushed cheeks. Belle noticed his sudden change of colour. Concerned she asked, "My, your all red in the cheeks, are you getting a fever?"

She then put her hand to his forehead, to determine whether he was sick.

"No, I'm fine Belle, go to bed, the sooner you go, the sooner I'll be there with you." He said in a rather unusual angry tone, that Belle had not heard him use since she was held captive by him.

He then pulled her hand away forcefully, but did not do it intentionally.

She grabbed her wrist and looked at the fingerprints from where the prince had grabbed her. She looked up into his deep blue eyes; hers were watering because she was in pain.

The prince was about to apologize and went to take Belle's hand but she moved away and said, "I'm tired, I'll go to bed now." She quickly walked up the stairs, almost as if she was trying to get as far away from the prince as possible. He was about to run after her, but remembered that they had company.

"I am so sorry to have caused you trouble. If there is anything I can do..." started the man.

"No I'm sure we're both just tired. It will be a new day in the morning." Then the prince mumbled under his breath, "I can assure you, you've done enough already."

"Shall I show you to your room now?" asked the prince politely.

"Why that would be lovely." Replied the man.

The prince couldn't help but notice the stranger's sudden change of attitude towards him.

"Very well follow me." Said the prince firmly.

The prince grabbed a candlestick and led the way down a series of hallways. The man followed several feet behind. Whenever the prince glanced back at the man, he saw the man seeming to pay very close attention to his surroundings. It was almost as if the man was busily storing away his own personal map of the castle, so as to find his way around himself.

The prince was in fact purposely leading the man to an entirely different part of the castle, as far away from his and Belle's room as possible, without being to obvious. _He had after all only met the man that night, and his sudden change of attitude towards him made him become more cautious of the stranger._

He stopped however when the man started to look suspicious.

"Ah here we are." Said the prince bluntly.

The man looked at the prince for a minute. Then said, "I appreciate what you're doing for me kind sir."

The prince thinking that it was all an act replied politely, "Your welcome, goodnight to you sir, pleasant dreams."

The man replied slyly, "I'm sure they'll never be as pleasant as yours."

The prince who was already walking away stopped in his tracks, turned on his heel and started walking back towards the door to ask what he meant by that last remark. But it was too late; the man had already shut the door. The prince thought about knocking and waiting until he got an answer out of him. But he thought he would look too suspicious and he didn't want to cause another disturbance.

So he turned on his heel once again and walked into the shadows all the way through the many hallways he had taken the man through. Once he had finally reached his and Belle's room, he noticed that Belle was asleep. So he quietly got back into bed. Once under the sheets he looked over at Belle's face (as she had her back facing him). Her pillow was partially wet where her eyes were resting. They seemed to be her tears. He felt guilt shoot through his entire body and then it all came together and rested on his heart. It was too much for him to bear. Jealousy and guilt both in the same night. Feelings he never remembered feeling came to him all at once. He quietly put his head to his pillow and rolled over, so that his back was facing Belle's.

Belle, who was in fact still awake, peered over her shoulder at her prince and she thought how strange he had acted. She then screamed as she heard a crack of thunder, which startled her from her thoughts. The prince shot up from his pillow and held Belle who said, "I'm fine, I was just startled, that's all."

"Belle I'm sorry about tonight, I didn't mean to hurt you, I..."

"It's okay I'm fine I just hope I didn't wake anyone."

All of a sudden Lumiere, followed by Cogsworth appeared at the door.

"Mademoiselle, are you alright?" asked Lumiere.

"Of course she's alright, the master is here, why shouldn't she be?" Cogsworth then looks at Belle and says, "Are you?"

"I'm fine, I was just startled that's all."

"See I told you, nothing to worry about." Said Cogsworth taking charge of the whole situation.

"Oh admit it, you were just as worried as I Cogsworth." Lumiere teased.

Cogsworth looks at the ground bashfully, "Well yes, I was a little."

"Lumiere, Cogsworth, it's 12:45am. Could you...?" started the prince.

"Why yes of course, come now Lumiere, leave them in peace." Ordered Cogsworth.

Mrs Potts appears at the bedroom door, "Anyone for tea?"

Cogsworth who is annoyed says, "Mrs Potts, they are both very tired, I'm sure the last thing they need is caffeine."

"Of course dears, goodnight, sleep well." Whispered Mrs Potts.

"Goodnight everyone." Both Belle and the prince said at the same time.

They laughed a little.

"Whatever would we do without those three?" asked Belle.

"Probably live a humourless life." Replied the prince.

"Perhaps." Yawned Belle.

"Goodnight." She said sleepily.

"Goodnight Belle. I love you." He whispered in her ear.

"I love you too..." Belle murmured sleepily.

They both then dozed off into a world of dreams, where anything was possible. No nightmare could come to the prince, for he had lived one most of his life. His only nightmare that he feared he would one day have, was that Belle would no longer be part of his life. That is and would always be his one everlasting fear.


	2. Chapter 2: Finding Belle

**Chapter 2: Finding Belle**

It was early in the morning and the prince had just woken up from a five-hour sleep. It was 5.30 am and he sleepily made a little groan as he stretched out his arms above his head. He wanted to go back to sleep. But he was still thinking about the events that had happened only five hours ago. So instead of nodding off back to sleep, he decided to check if Belle was sleeping alright. However, just as he went to touch her cheek, he found that he was only rubbing her pillow beside him. Belle wasn't in her side of the bed. She usually wasn't up until 7.30 am and after lasts night's events, he didn't believe that she had decided out of pure choice to wake up before her usual time.

He quickly rose up out of bed and didn't even stop to pull on his slippers or night robe. He was too busy thinking of what Belle could have possibly wanted to do for that man at 5.30 in the morning.

He didn't believe that she was in any real danger, but even so he moved as fast as humanly possible as if her life depended on it.

He skipped every two steps all the way down to the main hall and swept down through the shadows all the way to the man's room.

But before he reached it he noticed that the door was wide open. He quickly but quietly rushed to the door and peered into the room he had given the man the night before. No one was there. Feeling frustrated he ran his hand severely through his shoulder-length blonde hair. It fell back over his face and sat in that position for a while, as he tried to think. His hair was soon flying through the air again as he ran towards the main room in the hall where Belle, himself and the man had been last night. He ran all the way to the main room, with his eyes fixed on his path ahead, making sure nothing got in his way, that would slow him down.

He had a feeling that something was not right. _Belle had left her side of the bed early; the man was nowhere to be found._ Finally the prince reached the main room. Yet again there was not a single soul, except for his own. He thought again. _Where would Belle have taken that man at 5.30 in the morning? Or even worse where had the man taken Belle?_

Nothing came to mind.

He was so sure that he would start to lose his temper and scream out Belle's name, that he wondered outside and literally shoved his head into a deep, freezing cold puddle of icy rainwater. He kept doing this for the next five minutes or so until he finally snapped back to thinking logical again.

Slowly he trudged back into the castle. Running through the dark hallways he thought to himself, _The kitchen, the library, the West Wing?_

At the thought of the man in the prince's West Wing the prince bolted up the stairs thinking, _If I find that man in there I'll make sure he never walks again._

However, right after that, he stopped in his tracks and thought, _What am I doing? The West Wing was a thing of the past. He had nothing to hide. Even so the man shouldn't be in there. _The Prince started to feel his inner beast start to take over again, like it had so many years ago. He was once again, angry, moody and ready to fight. He swore never to go back to his old self again. He was a new man, Belle's husband, kind, understanding and...

"Ouch!" he shouted and put his hand to his head. He'd run into the door of the West Wing and his head was throbbing with pain. He must have wondered the rest of the way to the West Wing without even realising it. He peered through the door, which was slightly ajar. No one seemed to have been in there. He himself hadn't been inside, since he was transformed, on the balcony of the West Wing eight months ago.

_It looked different somehow_, he thought to himself as he started to walk through the damp but strangely comforting room. It had no real life anymore. After all, he occupied this room for so many years, that he practically used to live in it. Brushing away the memory he walked over to the table that his rose once sat on, waiting for him to fall in love, so that the curse would be lifted. He went to pick up his mirror but was shocked to find that it was not sitting where he had last left it. He started to reminisce about the stormy night on which he had battled Gaston. _He remembered retrieving the mirror from Gaston's stiff grip on the ground below. He had then buried his body and brought the mirror back up to the West Wing and placed it on the table. That was the last he had seen it._

Thinking of Belle, the library came to mind once again. As quickly as possible he ran to the library doors. Passing old paintings on the way, which seemed to follow him with their eyes as he moved. As the library doors came into view, he slowed down, so as to catch his breath. He stopped a few metres away from the door. He waited until his breathing had calmed down and then slowly pushed open the doors. Belle was lying fast asleep in her night robe, near the fire, holding a red-leather covered book in her left hand. He ran to Belle immediately and said in a concerned matter, "Belle wake up, Belle are you alright? What happened? What did he do to you? Belle..."

He was interrupted by a familiar, disturbing voice, coming from behind a chair by the fire, "She is merely sleeping. Do you wish to wake her from her dreams?

This was just all too strange for the prince. _What would Belle possibly be doing in the library at 5.30 in the morning? And with this weirdo? Why would Belle leave her comfortable bed, to come into the library to read, only to fall asleep on the floor? And why would this man be sitting in the chair, near the fireplace acting as if it was all perfectly normal?_

"What did you do to her?" yelled the prince angrily, feeling the blood rush to his face.

The man stood up out of the chair, acting as if he owned the place, and walked over to the prince, who was kneeling next to Belle. Standing over the prince and Belle he said calmly, "What do you mean? She is sleeping. The worst I could have done was to sing her a lullaby."

The prince feeling irritable with the man by now, stood up so that he was looking directly into the mans beady black eyes.

Quietly he said, "You've come into my home, acted like a mad man, made disturbing remarks and now you've hurt Belle. I was kind enough to offer you a room for the night, without even knowing you. However I will not let any harm come to Belle while I'm around. Now I'm requesting, not asking nicely, for you to leave right now and never bother us again or I'll..."

The prince stopped as he heard Belle whimper. Rushing to her side, he lifted her head up to rest on his shoulder, as he kneeled beside her.

"Belle, tell me what happened." Said the worried prince.

Putting her hand up to her face to rub her eyes, she seemed disorientated. With her eyes half open she looked around the library and mumbled, "I don't know, I fell asleep."

"Why are you down here though? The sun isn't even up." He said looking at her anxiously.

"Master, is everything alright? We heard a commotion and we..." started of Lumiere worriedly, as he entered the library.

The prince turned to the doors where Lumiere and Cogsworth stood. The man then quietly snuck over to Belle and took the book out of her hand. He secretively replaced the book, back on the bookshelf, and gave her a new book to hold.

"We? Ahem, I believe it was you who heard this, "so called" commotion. I was merely drinking my cup of tea when... oh dear, is the girl alright?" Said Cogsworth, his taking charge attitude was quickly taken over by a worried and concerned tone, as soon as he saw Belle lying on the ground.

Lumiere seemed to think that something wasn't right in the room. It had something to do with the stranger.

"Master, step aside. I'll fix him for you." He said in a hero type manner.

Just as he was about to take charge like a bull with his head bent down (almost as if he was thinking he could head-butt the man to death), Cogsworth put out his hand so that it rested firmly on Lumiere's head, to stop him.

"Now is that any way to treat our guest?" said Cogsworth authoritatively.

"I can assure you that he is no longer our guest." Said the prince eyeing the man angrily.

He noticed that the man had gotten even closer to Belle.

"What do you think you're doing? Don't get any closer to her. Come and stand in front of me, so that I can be sure you won't hurt Belle again." Said the prince demandingly.

The man walked casually over, to stand in front of the prince as if he was the most significant thing that ever roamed the earth. He didn't even try to defend himself about hurting Belle. Which made the prince even more suspicious.

However everything came to a halt, when Belle finally woke up and saw everyone around her, looking like they were about to pummel the man.

"What's going on?" she said looking around confused.

The prince bent down and helped her up from the floor.

"Belle are you alright? Tell me what he did to you." Whispered the prince in a calm soothing tone.

"He hasn't done anything to me. Whatever gave you that idea?" asked Belle eyeing her prince carefully.

The prince turned to look at the man. Who in return stared right back with a look of sympathy on his face. The prince had to take a double take at this. _What was he up to this time? _The man had once again put on a different attitude, now that Belle was involved. The prince didn't know whether the man was trying to confuse him, or to make Belle think that the prince was mad. The prince turned back to Belle a lot more seriously this time to say, "Belle, I really don't trust this man. He has been acting strangely ever since he's arrived. I don't want him to hurt you."

Belle laughed, "What could this man possibly do to me?" As she walked over to the man.

As she linked arms with the man, she held up the book she was reading. _Hang on _the prince thought._ Belle was holding a red-leathered covered book before. Now it was blue. Maybe I really am starting to go mad._

The prince looked at Belle, and then at the man, who only shrugged his shoulders and said, "We all make mistakes." He then led Belle out of the room, with her arm wrapped around his.

The prince listened to their conversation as they walked out of the room.

"I'm sorry for the way he has acted kind sir." Said Belle apologetically.

"Don't mention it. Everyone gets a little "crazy" sometimes." Said the man turning to stare at the prince, making sure the prince had heard.

Belle then asked Lumiere and Cogsworth to help prepare breakfast.

As the library doors were closed, the prince felt as if he was in the West Wing again. All alone in the darkness with nothing but a rose to light the room. In this case, a fire. He was still in the same position, that Belle and the man had left him standing in. His fists were clenched so tight that his knucklebones were visible through his thick skin. He eventually loosened his grip and stood there thinking, _What's happening? Why am I alone? Why is it dark? Why is it quiet?_


	3. Chapter 3: Fire Man

**Chapter 3: Fire Man**

About half an hour later, the prince walked casually into the kitchen. He saw Mrs Potts at the stove, cooking bacon by the smell of it. He looked around. _I haven't ever really been in this part of the castle before._ He strolled over to where Mrs Potts was standing and pretended to be interested in what she was doing.

"Mrs Potts!" said the prince enthusiastically, "What delicious meal have you cooked up this morning?"

Mrs Potts turned her head in astonishment. She was quite surprised to see the prince in the kitchen. She turned down the stove to a lower heat, and spun her plump body around to face him, as she wiped her greasy hands on her dirty white apron.

"Oh my! What brings you into the kitchen at this hour dear? Actually what brings you in here at all?" She asked curiously, tilting her head to one side.

The prince tried to think of a good reason. _It had to be something worth talking about. _The prince had only ever been into the kitchen before, to yell at the staff for, _Not preparing his meal right, or he wanted his food now and that by the way they were going, it would be five years before he got his meal, etc. _He felt guilty all of a sudden, as he remembered the way he had treated his staff, when all they had ever done was provide him with a wonderful, rich and spoilt life.

He pushed that memory away, and tried to concentrate on giving Mrs Potts a reasonable answer for his being there. _He didn't want to talk about the stranger or Belle. He had only come in here because he knew that this would be the last place, that anyone would look for him. If they were looking for him. _He thought miserably, as his thoughts trailed off once again. He saw Mrs Potts staring at him impatiently, while tapping her foot, so he told her the first thing that came to his confused mind.

"Um – well I – I just wanted to see what I pay you people for?" he said more formally as he lifted his head up.

Mrs Potts gave him a look of disbelief, which quickly turned into a grin. She knew that wasn't the reason for why he was here. She had a little inkling that it might have something to do with the new guest and perhaps Belle as well.

So she calmly turned around so as to hide her smile, and started to flip the bacon again. She then said, "Master, if you don't mind my asking, does this little trip to the kitchen have anything to do with our new guest?"

Mrs Potts didn't look at him as she said this. She pretended to be more interested in making sure the breakfast didn't burn. The prince was stunned at her question. _She must have known all along that I was only hiding out in here. I feel like such an idiot._

"Sir, are you alright?" asked Mrs Potts turning to face him, with a look of concern, when he didn't answer.

He lifted his head up from his thoughts and said, "What was that Mrs Potts? Did you say something?"

Mrs Potts looked at him very carefully and replied, "I asked if you were alright. You are alright, aren't you?"

Her back was to the stove as she waited for him to answer.

The prince rubbed his forehead, as if "thinking", was the most difficult and painful task ever known to mankind.

"Yes I suppose I am, I think I – Mrs Potts – the stove!" yelled the prince as he pointed hysterically at the flames rising from the frying pan. He grabbed a tea towel, which was hanging on a hook nearby and started to smother the flames, while Mrs Potts backed away towards to door in fright.

"Help!" screamed Mrs Potts frantically. "Help, there's a fire."

At that very moment, the mysterious stranger came barging through the kitchen doors with a bucket full of sand. He shoved the prince to the side, and then tipped the sand over the flames.

"Oh my!" exclaimed Mrs Potts, trying to catch her breath. "Aren't we lucky you came along?"

She didn't even thank the prince for his efforts, until she spotted him leaning against a wall near the stove, almost out of breath himself.

"Oh, and thankyou also master." said Mrs Potts without much meaning. She turned back to focus on the man once again.

The prince looked at them both and thought, _What does she mean, "Aren't we lucky you came along?" If it wasn't for him, none of this would have happened. I wouldn't be worrying about him and Belle. So that means I would have had no reason to come into the kitchen to hide and disturb Mrs Potts from her duties._

He looked up at the man once again and listened to him as he said in a heroic tone, "No problem at all Madame. Always a pleasure to be of assistance for a damsel in distress." A slight grin appeared on his mouth.

_The man looks different, now that I can see him in the light._ Thought the prince. _He had shoulder length sandy coloured hair, which was tied back with a black bow. He had beady-black eyes, which he had already established the night before. His skin was slightly tanned and he was about the same height as the prince himself. The prince had to admit; he was a handsome looking fellow, who could easily have any woman he wanted. He somehow reminded him of Gaston._ (The prince knew about Gaston from Belle, who had talked about him a few times before.) _His attitude was totally out of wack, but he could be charming when he wanted. That was for sure._ The prince was startled, when he realised that his body was being shaken all over the place, by the man.

"Sir, are you alright?" asked the man, making sure that the prince saw the mischievous grin on his face.

The prince shook him off angrily and said, "I'm fine."

Mrs Potts, who was watching, came over to the man from her position near the door, grabbed the man's arm gently and said, "I do believe he is just a little shocked."

She then reached over to the prince's arm and walked him over to sit at a bench on a stool.

"I'll get you some tea sir." She said warmly and scurried over to boil the teapot.

The man paced around the prince, with his hands behind his back and whispered, once Mrs Potts was out of hearing range, "I can understand why you were so afraid. I mean being raised by nanny's, being spoiled by your parents, and waited on hand and foot your whole life, has gotta do something to you. You would have never expected something like this to happen to you I bet. You've been brainwashed your whole life, into believing that you were a God or something. So I can understand why a sweet little boy like you didn't have a clue what to do." Said the man with so much sarcasm, that it made the prince want to throw up.

The prince just felt like hurling his hot cup of tea at the man, the moment it arrived. However, now that the prince thought about it, the man was actually quite right in a way. As much as the prince hated to admit it, he had been rather spoilt, waited on hand and foot, and practically treated like a God. _Hang on! Why am I even listening to this insane lunatic? I'm just letting him get to me. Well two can play at that game._

"Well apparently I'm much better off. I, at least, can control my bodily functions, whereas you have personality spasms every few minutes." The prince snickered at the man triumphantly. He felt much better, now that he had got some of the anger out of his system.

The man glared at the prince with his beady-black eyes. His jawbones were moving violently up and down on both sides of his face. Belle walked in at that exact moment.

"Ah, goodmorning Belle, are you..." started off the prince cheerfully.

But was cut off by Belle, who had rushed into the room, put her hand to her mouth and said, "Oh my gosh, what happened here? I heard a commotion from upstairs so I hurried down here as fast as I could." She said as soon as she saw the burnt-up stove, not even acknowledging the prince's warm welcome.

Mrs Potts arrived back on the scene and replied, "Oh Belle. The master and I were talking and I accidentally let the whole stove catch fire."

She smiled when she saw the man standing in the middle of the room, and said rather happily, "However, if it hadn't of been for our guest, I don't think I would have lived to tell the tale."

The man struck his most stunning smile at Belle and said arrogantly, "Oh, it was nothing. It's one of those things that should come naturally to any man. Especially when a woman's life is at stake." He said eyeing Mrs Potts, with as much charm as he could muster.

She in return giggled, like she was a young girl, who had just fallen in love for the first time.

This made the prince sick to the stomach. _Why was no one acknowledging him? If it wasn't for him, Mrs Potts may have been burnt alive._

The prince started to walk over to the man. His fists were clenched up into balls of fury. He was ready to beat this weirdo, once and for all. However just as the prince raised his right fist, to strike the man in his left cheek, a thought occurred to him. _If I beat this stranger, I will most likely not be able to stop until he's dead. I'm not going to sink as low as that. Especially in front of Belle and Mrs Potts._

So he turned his fist into an outstretched hand and patted the man on his shoulder. "Thankyou kind sir. I'm so glad you were here to help." Said the prince kindly. He then watched as the mans' victorious grin quickly changed to a confused look.

Once the prince had left the room, he realised that he had just scored. The man expected the prince to go off at him like he did in the library. _Not a satisfied guest anymore, are we?_ Thought the prince mischievously. Now at least Belle didn't think that he was going mad. However as he turned to enter the main room he thought, _Wait a minute! How did that man manage to get to the fire so quickly with a bucket of sand, like that? It was as if the man had been expecting the fire, and had the bucket already prepared. And where did he get the sand? There was nothing but snow outside. Who is this man? And what is he really up to?_

_Thankyou to everyone that has reviewed my story so far. I have a lot more chapters to go. So stay tuned. I really appreciate it when people review my stories. It gives me the energy to keep going. Well I hope you enjoy this chapter. Also, I updated this chapter to a more sufficient standard. I thank TrudiRose for sending me her suggestions and little nitpicks to help me write my story better. I also thank her for reviewing all of my chapters so far. I also thank Yuffie Paine for reviewing my chapters so enthusiastically. And some of the other very kind people who have sent wonderful comments on my story so far. I hope my story sounds better and doesn't confuse anyone._

_candy depp sumpter_


	4. Chapter 4: Figuring It Out

**Chapter 4: Figuring It Out**

Two hours later, the prince was sitting lazily in his chair, in the main room quietly, all alone thinking to himself.

Belle and the stranger were in another part of the castle, with Lumiere and Cogsworth watching their every move under the prince's order.

It had occurred to the prince that the man didn't seem too dangerous at the moment. So he didn't want to stir anything up until he could prove that the man was indeed mad.

The prince sat in his chair, resting his cheek in his left hand while he gazed into the fire. He seemed to be lost. He wanted this man gone from his home, but he was afraid that Belle would turn against him, if he were to just kick the man out for no apparent reason.

Belle and he had only been together for less then a year, and already their lives had been disrupted. He wondered what might of happened if he had never let the stranger into the castle. Would the man of suddenly transformed into the enchantress like last time and lay yet another curse on him?

So many possibilities. The prince finally heaved himself out of his chair and idly walked to the door of the room. He wanted more than anything to run and find Belle and take her on a romantic sleigh ride. But "Mr Mysterious" would most certainly put on a rejected act, and then Belle would feel bad and stay behind to make the man feel more "welcome".

_I've got to find a way to uncover what this man is up to. I know he's hiding something. Something I know would certainly make everyone realise that he is no saint._

He tried to think of anything strange that the man had done whilst staying at the castle.

_Well everything about him is strange. _Thought the prince perplexed.

_But no one else seems to think so. So I have to find something really abnormal about him that even Belle will think is peculiar._

The prince had now wandered into the hallway and was slowly pacing up and down the hallway with his fingers tapping his chin as he stared down at the red carpet. Just then Lumiere ran past breathlessly and said excitedly, "Master! Won't you join us for a snowball fight outside?"

The prince looked up from his thoughts startled. He then gave Lumiere an annoyed look.

"Lumiere, can you not tell that I am busy?"

Lumiere showed a face of puzzlement, because it didn't seem that the prince was busy.

"Oh, I apologise sir. But if you prefer not to be disturbed, the library is free."

Suddenly the prince's bright blue eyes lit up.

"Lumiere you're a genius." Exclaimed the prince, as he hugged Lumiere tightly.

"I am?" said a bewildered Lumiere, who was suffocating from the prince's rather tight grip.

The prince let go and ran up the stairs to the library.

"Always a pleasure to be of service, master." Called out Lumiere with one hand cupped around his mouth, so that he would be heard.

He then smiled and scurried out to the front yard to endure in a game of snowball fighting.

The prince burst through the doors of the library, only to find that the stranger was standing by the fire. The prince's determined expression was quickly wiped away to turn into a scowl.

"Oh, what are you doing here?" the prince asked very unpleasantly.

"Just warming up by the fire. Nothing too serious. I see you have the same idea. You do look quite pale." Said the man putting on an act of concern.

"I'd rather you left. Go play a game of snowball with the others or something. I need time to myself." Said the prince calmly, as he waved his hand as if to shoo him away like a fly.

"Of course. Most certainly. The library is all yours." He said as if it was his to give up.

"Yes I know it is." Said the prince eyeing the man apprehensively as he left the room.

The man was gone only for a few short seconds only to pop his head around the corner again to say, "Oh by the way, Belle has requested that you are not to touch any of the books on the centre left wall. She's – ah – reorganising the shelf." He said uncertainly.

Then he was gone.

_Odd. _Thought the prince with a confused expression on his usually confident face. _Belle always put her books back in the same spot so that she remembered where everything was. To just go ahead and reorganise them, would just confuse her._

The prince thought that this was all too suspicious. He then thought back to what he had originally come into the library for in the first place. _Okay, this morning Belle had a red book. But then she had a blue one. So she must have originally been reading something in the red book._

Then a thought occurred to him.

_Wait a second. The man was standing by Belle, behind me after I had finished talking to Lumiere and Cogsworth. When I turned around to look at Belle, her book was no longer red. It was blue. So obviously the man had switched the books while I was distracted. And now he doesn't want me to touch the particular bookshelf, which Belle appeared to have taken her book from this morning. So he obviously got rid of the important book, (I assume it was important, otherwise he wouldn't have bothered to hide it.) that Belle was reading this morning with another useless one. So clearly he's hiding something. And I suspect that Belle knew something this morning. That was why she was in the library so early reading. And I think that crazy lunatic gave her a substance of some sort to make her delusional and forget everything. It's all coming together. _

_Okay, I am not going to get angry and go after this man._ Thought the prince as his face started to lose its pale colour and turn scarlet at the thought of someone hurting Belle.

_I'm going to find out what Belle was reading this morning and see if I can figure out a way to prove to everyone that he is the mad one. Not me._

So the prince started to search for the book, which would hopefully be the solution to this nightmare.

_Thankyou to everyone who keeps reading my story. This chapter is a little bit shorter this time. But I hope you enjoy it all the same._

_P.S. You should know about Fan Fiction's update these past few weeks. And I would just like to say that I have had some trouble trying to upload my stories. I have had many chapters typed up already. I have just had a lot of trouble uploading them. So I am very sorry about the wait. It shouldn't happen again. I have been dying to upload these chapters. Believe me. _

_Candy depp sumpter _


	5. Chapter 5: The Answer

**Chapter 5: The Answer**

The prince stayed in the library for many hours until he finally thought he'd found what he was searching for. Seeing the red book (that the man had hidden among the other books) he reached up and pulled it down.

I hope that this is the book. None of the other red books had anything abnormal in them.

He slowly started to flick through the pages of the book trying to find something that would give him the answer to his problem.

Finally he stopped at a chapter in the book that was titled, _Disgruntled Prince's Insecurities: The answer to their foolishness. _

The prince slammed the book shut abruptly. _What was the meaning of this? Why would Belle be looking up something like this?_ He was so angry now that he decided to go to Belle and tell her to her face exactly what he thought about this.

So he threw the book far across the library where it hit another wall and ran out of the library, down the winding staircase all the way outside.

"Belle!" he shouted. "Belle where are you? I want to talk to you now." He yelled searching the snow-covered yard in front of the castle.

Finally he heard Lumiere call from the castle entrance, "Master, we are all inside. No one else is out here except for you."

"Where is Belle?" he fumed angrily. He swore that he was so hot with fury that his feet were melting the very snow he was standing on.

"Why she is inside sitting near the fireplace. We all saw you run outside and were quite worried. You seemed rather livid." Answered Lumiere with concern in his caring voice.

"Well I'm fine. I just need to speak to Belle now." Said the prince calming down.

"But of course. Right this way master." Said Lumiere cheerfully turning around and heading back inside the castle and the prince gradually followed.

The prince trudged all the way back into the castle and followed Lumiere into the main living room, only to find that Belle was sleeping peacefully in the arms of no other then the stranger.

He tried to compose himself and walked up to Belle and whispered into her ear so that the man didn't hear. "Belle I need to talk to you now. You can sleep later."

The man gave the prince a dirty look, which clearly said that he had heard the prince. "The girl is weary from today's activities and yet you still think your business is more important. You make me sick, you arrogant pretty boy."

The prince was so shocked by the man's sudden outburst that he too lashed out, but didn't use words to hurt the man. He used his fist.

The punch was so loud that Belle awoke from her peaceful slumber and stared up at her husband, confused by his heavy breathing and pale face. Then she looked up at the man and saw the huge red mark forming on his cheek.

"What happened?" asked Belle sitting up to examine the man's cheek. She saw the confused look in his eyes and slowly turned to the prince.

"What did you do?" she said glaring up at him.

The prince looked at her sadly and answered, "I'm sorry Belle. I can't do this anymore. I can't play second field with another man that you are clearly in love with. I'll never bother you again."

And with that he left the castle, jumped onto Belle's horse and rode out through the gates, not looking back. He had to get away from there. He couldn't go back after what just happened. Not after the look Belle had given him.

He could hear Belle in the distance calling out after him but he could never face her again.

So off he rode thinking to himself. _I was never made to love anyone or for anyone to love me back. I am just going to live out the rest of my days by myself and never hurt anyone again._

_Well what do you think? I know it's real short this time, but I honestly couldn't think of anything else for this particular chapter. I have decided that this is the end of my story and I am going to ask you to put in your reviews whether I should make a sequel to it or not. Because I don't want to continue if no one likes it._

_P.S. People you've been great._

_Tidus' girl Candy_


	6. Chapter 6: A New Man

**Chapter 6: A New Man**

"Ah, hello young Mr B. Haven't seen you around lately. What can I do for ya today?" asked the local grocer.

"Oh just the usual. Carrots for Philippe and I'll take some lettuce and apples for me." Replied a tall light-brown haired man.

"Alrighty then son. Just a moment." The grocer replied as he headed out the back, to collect the man's order.

As he waited he saw his own reflection staring back at him in the shiny metal scales, which sat on the grocers counter. The man he had become over the last three years was not someone he had ever pictured himself as being.

He was still the same on the outside, but after the unfortunate events that had happened so long ago, he felt himself mentally change into a kind, caring person that was able to control his temper with ease.

He was not known to the people of this town when he had first arrived. I mean who would recognise a prince who lived in a castle and was practically a beast for most of his life, and always kept to himself. The other fact was that this town was at least a week's journey from where he had once lived.

Finally the grocer had arrived back on the scene with his vegetables and fruit.

The man handed the grocer the money and thanked him kindly as he turned back to his horse. He strapped on the sacks of food and heaved himself onto the horses back.

"Okay Philippe, lets go home." He whispered gently patting the horse on the right side of his neck.

Home? Where was home now you ask?

Well over a little country road a few miles away from the village sits a small little cabin, which, he has lived in for almost three years now since the events took place.

"Ah Philippe isn't it nice to be free?" asked the man who was taking in the sweet scent of blossoming flowers, now that it was almost summer.

The horse neighed in agreement and trotted off towards their little home, which Mr B. had grown quite fond of.

On the way he glanced around, thinking about how simple life seemed and how he always felt so serene. He had felt nothing quite like this for some time.

After about thirty minutes Mr B. spotted his little house appearing over the hill in the distance. He pulled on Philippe's reigns and ordered the horse to stop.

There they stood gazing out over the forest which lived only meters away from his home.

"Ah." Sighed Mr B. calmly. "Come on Philippe let's go and have some lunch."

The pair then rode all the way down to the house at a fast pace, and Mr B. couldn't have felt happier.

* * *

**A/N: **_Hey everyone I'm back. You didn't think I was seriously going to leave my story at the fifth chapter did you? Well here is my sixth chapter. It is set three years after the unfortunate events took place and the prince is now known as Mr B._

_Enjoy and review!_

_**P.S.** I am going on holidays from the 30th of December and the following two weeks, so if you don't see anything from me during that time. That's why._

_Tidus' girl Candy_


	7. Chapter 7: Dreams

**Chapter 7: Dreams**

The next morning Mr B. awoke rather late. He wasn't feeling too well and decided that as soon as he was ready he would head into town to buy some medicine.

So he slowly crawled out of his bed and sat on the side for a moment, with his face buried in his hands as he tried to wake up properly, and the fact that his head was now aching didn't make the process any easier.

Gradually he left his bed and went to boil the kettle for his warm bath. He had now become more independent and was able to take care of himself in a way he never thought possible. A few years ago the idea of living in a small house, without any servants in sight would have seemed like a joke, which should never be told.

Now here he was, a new man, who felt like he was capable of anything.

He now entered his washroom and filled the bath up with the heated water. He then undressed and lowered himself into the bath slowly, easing himself into the water.

He closed his eyes, which felt rather heavy from being ill, and tried to relax.

However, he soon fell into a deep sleep as he let his head hang lazily over the top end of the bath where he was sitting.

Laughter came from somewhere in the distance, as he stood in the middle of a grassy field.

"Come and find me." A young girl called.

"Where are you?" he called.

"Over here." She called happily.

He saw a flash of blue run past him behind a nearby tree.

"I'm coming." He called

He ran towards the tree and saw it approaching him at a rapid rate.

_Almost there. _He thought happily.

As he rounded the tree he expected to see a happy girl giggling with happiness, but instead he saw a man holding onto her with his hands covering her mouth.

"Belle is mine." Whispered the man evilly.

Mr B. woke up spluttering and coughing water. He wiped his face and tried to think why he had been dreaming about these two people, who he'd never seen before in his life. But the painful headache that he was suffering from interrupted his thoughts.

"I better get to town." He groaned, trying not to slip on the floor below as he departed from the bathtub.

He stumbled over to the hand basin, which was situated, on the other side of the room.

He stared into the foggy mirror and said to no one in particular, "Why do I always have the same dream all the time? It means nothing to me and yet, it seems like it is trying to tell me something."

He shook his head trying to rid the thought from his already aching mind. He tried to dress as fast as his body could manage. When he finally was ready to leave he called for Philippe who was out in the grassy fields grazing. Finally the obedient horse galloped up to where he was waiting.

"Philippe we have to go to town again. I'm feeling horrible today." He told the horse as he climbed onto it's back, feeling the energy he had left drain from his body.

The horse rode off with Mr B. resting on his back lazily.

It wasn't long before he reached town. Which was good, as he wanted to cure his illness as soon as possible.

He stopped Philippe outside the hut of the local doctor, who was more of a spiritual leader, who believed in the path of natural healing. But he did have a few medicines for the simple headache.

He entered the little hut, which sat so dangerously on the side of road. The doctor was nowhere to be seen, so he called out wanting medicine quick.

The little old man popped out from behind a curtain and walked towards Mr B. as if he expected to see him.

"Yeah yeah, hold your horses, I got ya medicine for ya." He grumbled, handing the medicine towards him.

"Oh... thankyou…how did…" started Mr B. but was cut off halfway.

"Oh I know a lot about you sir. More then you know about yourself." He interrupted mysteriously.

"I find that hard to believe." He replied annoyed that the doctor thought this.

"Oh my boy. You have a long way to go before you really discover your true self." The old man said grinning.

"What do you mean?" young Mr B. asked.

"Well for instance, do you honestly think you belong in that little shack you call home?" the old man replied, raising his eyebrows.

"Um…well yes actually I do. What is so wrong about that?" Asked the man growing annoyed with the old man's questions, when all he wanted to do was go home, take his medicine and go to sleep.

"Nothing, if you are willing to completely block your past from your mind. If you keep going the way you're going, you'll be fine." The old man said reassuringly with a menacing grin playing around his mouth.

"What do you mean block my past from my mind? I am Mr B. and I travelled all the way from a faraway land to settle here and live the remainder of my life in peace." He said angrily, trying to hold his temper for the first time in ages.

"Where is this faraway land you claim to have travelled from?" the old man said sitting down, looking as if he already knew the answer to that question.

"Why are you asking me? You obviously know everything about me so far. Why don't you tell me?" he said calming down a bit.

"Because it's you that needs to figure that one out." The old man said a lot more seriously.

Mr B. gave the man a look, which said _'huh'_. The man however asked him to leave, as he was quite busy.

As Mr B. went to climb on his horse he heard the man say to him from behind, "The dream will help you my boy."

As he went to turn around however he noticed that the hut was closed and the man was gone.

_Time to go home._

However just as he began to ride away on Philippe he realised that his headache was completely gone and he felt much better then before.

"Well isn't that strange? Come on Philippe lets go to the drinking lodge before we go home." He told the horse and steered towards the other end of the road.

He jumped off Philippe energetically and entered the lodge, where he used to spend most of his time when he first arrived in this small town.

The noise, which he had heard from within the lodge outside, ceased when he entered and all eyes turned to him.

_Why did I come here? I should've just gone home._

But it was too late to back out now. He would just order a quick drink and be on his way.

"Ah…young Mr B. you've decided to grace us with your presence once more." A drunken man laughed as he took another swig of his beer.

He made his way over to a vacant counter and sat down on a stool waiting to be served.

"The usual Mr B.?" asked the bartender before bursting into a fit of laughter with the rest of the drunken men.

Mr B. had spent an awful lot of time getting drunk with the other men in this place, when he had first arrived in this town, and since he hadn't returned for quite a while, he had become an outcast in this area.

"Just a beer will do thankyou sir." he replied ignoring their snide remarks.

"Righto." The bartender replied as he turned to prepare Mr B.'s drink.

After he was served his beer he overheard a conversation coming from a group of men who were sitting in the far corner of the room.

"Yeah I saw him. He was the most gruesome thing I ever saw. His teeth were sharp fangs, he was ten feet tall, his eyes were blue and he was covered in fur all over." One man said enthusiastically.

"He apparently captured a young girl and she was never seen again." Another voice said mysteriously

"Yes I think that Gaston fellow ended up killing him, although he to was never seen again." The first voice stated.

"Who was the girl anyway?" asked a different voice.

"She was the daughter of a crazy inventor. She went by the name of Belle."

Mr B.'s ears pricked up at the mention of Belle's name. That was the same name as the girl in his dream. But there was obviously more than one girl who went by the name of Belle.

So the prince gulped down the rest of his beer, payed the bill and left.

A few hours later the prince was in the fields building a new shelter for Philippe. He had forgotten all about the previous events from the day, and was now just enjoying the fresh air.

Suddenly Philippe came running wildly towards him.

"Philippe what's wrong." He asked grabbing the reigns and trying to calm the horse down.

But as he stared up into the sky he noticed that a rather large storm was brewing. So he jumped on Philippe and rode back to the cabin.

He placed Philippe under his shade at the front of his cabin and started to board up his windows and door. After he'd finished that task, he suddenly became drowsy and wandered off to bed.

He found himself dreaming the same dream again, except something else was different. He saw himself running towards the same tree from a bird's eye view. But the strange thing was it looked nothing like him, it was more of a wild animal, the same animal that the men in the bar had described. But wait it wasn't possible. He wasn't a wild animal. Was he?

He suddenly woke up to a loud banging on the door. He got up in a hurry, scurried to the door and pried it open thinking that Philippe was in trouble.

However when he opened the door, he saw a sight that he felt he'd seen once before.

* * *

**A/N:**_ Well how am I doing? I know you're probably still wondering about who the evil guy is from the first 5 chapters. And you're probably confused as to why the prince has no idea who he is. But all will reveal itself later on._

_**P.S.** I know that the prince's new name 'Mr B'. may sound a little strange to some of you. But it's my own personal choice and he won't be known as that for long._

_Tidus' girl Candy_


	8. Chapter 8: True Self

**Chapter 8: True Self**

"Hello." he said as he saw an old lady standing at the door, soaking wet from the pouring rain.

When she didn't reply he spoke up once again, "May I help you mam?"

"Would an old lady such as myself be welcome into the home of a young man like yourself? I need shelter from the wretched weather we're having." She answered questioningly.

"But of course…come right in and make yourself at home. No one should be out in this weather." He replied politely.

"Why thank you my child." She thanked gratefully, as she stepped into the warm home of his.

She limped over to the chair in the far corner of the room, which was situated near a burning fireplace and rubbed her hands together in front of it.

Mr B. stood at the door and closed it, not realising that the storm had passed and that it was merely raining now. He walked over to a chair, which sat a few metres away from the one she was in. There was an awkward silence that followed, until the old woman finally spoke up.

"You are very kind to welcome me into your home young man." She said with a rather crackly voice, which should have scared him, if she wasn't so pleasant.

"You are most welcome…may I get you anything? A blanket…or tea…or…" he began but was shortly interrupted by the woman.

"No, no I'm fine really. I am quite content with the fire for now." She replied not taking her gaze off the fire.

Another awkward silence followed yet again, but it was he who broke it this time.

"May I ask…how is it you came to find your way out here? There isn't a town for miles and you didn't appear to have arrived by horse or carriage." He asked curiously.

She was quiet for a moment and then answered his question.

"You are much more wise and courteous since the last time I met you my child." She said with a smile forming on her crooked mouth, as she turned to face him.

He stared at her with confusion, "What do you mean? I do not recall a first meeting."

""Well no of course you wouldn't. That's my doing." She whispered looking away.

"What do you mean?" he repeated as he rose from his position in the chair.

"My child, I have done something that I will live to regret forever. I have…done something terrible." She said also rising from her chair, but with great difficulty.

"What is it? Tell me this wrongdoing so that I may understand what you are talking about." He demanded, letting a hint of anger slip into his voice.

"I shall…but first I must reveal my true self." She replied turning her back.

The prince was about to question her reply, but was unable to as he gasped at her sudden transformation, from an old, frail woman into a young, beautiful lady.

She turned to face him, with her long blonde hair falling at her sides, her beautiful green dress brought out her emerald green eyes and what mystified him even more was the rod like object she held in her right hand. It was in fact a wand.

He stared at her with his eyes bulging out from the sudden alteration of this woman's appearance.

"What…who are you?" he finally got out, with his mouth returning to its 'O' like shape, the same as before.

"I am the Enchantress, who first laid eyes upon you when you were only sixteen years old. Back then you were a rude, conceited young man. But now you have indeed changed and I was so foolish as to ruin everything you had, for fear that you would soon turn back to your old ways. I should have taken more notice of your progress and yet..." she was cut off by Mr B. who cut in rather confused.

He held his hand to his head and rubbed it frustratingly as he said, "Let me get this straight, you're an Enchantress…and that's where you've lost me. I don't recall ever meeting you before. You must have the wrong person, I'm sorry."

"I think I would know a prince when I see him young man, and you are in fact a prince who must return to your duties."

He shot his head up abruptly to stare at the lady in disbelief, "Woah, stop right there. Are you seriously telling me that I'm a…a prince?"

"Precisely…now…" the Enchantress was cut off yet again.

"Please…just back up…I am but a distant traveller. I came to this place over three years ago from a faraway land. I am no one." He argued.

She looked at him oddly.

"Hmm…I didn't think I cast too heavy a spell upon you…where is this land you supposedly travelled from?" she questioned.

But the prince was occupied with her statement about the part where she talked about casting a spell upon him.

"Wait…you cast a spell upon me?" he asked with disbelief.

"Yes it's true. Twice in fact." She said sadly.

"What…twice…" he asked still staring at her with widened eyes.

"Yes. Although the first spell was done intentionally and was appropriate for the situation at hand." She said becoming more confident.

"However when I cast the second one upon you…I thought that you had gone back to your old ways and…I can't believe my own brother had me fooled." She said growing angry and looking away, lost deep in thought.

Mr B. was utterly confused and decided that this woman must be a wondering lunatic, although he couldn't exactly explain how she had transformed.

"Look…I don't know who you are or what you want…but I can assure that I have been under no such spell…or spells for that matter…so you can stay here as long as you wish…but there is to be no more talk of this spell nonsense." He instructed.

"How about I explain myself from the beginning of when it all began?" she insisted.

"Well that would be a lot more helpful." He shouted throwing his hands up into the air.

"All right. Well eight years ago…when you were only sixteen years old, I came to your castle as an old beggar woman, who desperately needed shelter from the bitter cold as it was raining that night. You however were still your young arrogant self and turned me away. I gave you a second warning, to not be deceived by appearances, that beauty was found from within. However when you turned me away once again, I transformed into my Enchantress state and you pleaded for mercy. I however cast a spell upon you…a spell that would keep you a beast forever until your twenty-first year. I handed you a rose and said that if you learned to love and earn someone else's love in return before the last petal fell, then the spell would be broken. If not…you would be doomed to remain a beast forever." She stopped there for the moment and gazed at his bewildered expression.

"But…if what you say is true…then that means I must have found my true love and that means if I was a beast, then the spell was broken…" he babbled, still trying to register the conversation into his distraught mind.

"Yes that is true." She simply said.

He looked up and said, "Hang on…where is this person now then? Why am I not with them now? If I found the person…then why am I all alone?" he asked demandingly.

"That's where the next spell comes in." She answered.

"What do you mean?" he asked glaring at her.

"Well…you see…only a few months after you and your true love were married…a dark man came to the castle in the middle of the night. He was my twin brother, a dark sorcerer only after one thing. Your bride. You see I had made a deal with him that he would check up on you and then leave it at that. Then I would repay him with a favour. However that was not the plan according to him. He decided that he would bring havoc into your lives for his own benefit. Which is unfortunately one of his best talents. I myself have spent a lifetime picking up the pieces of his many paths of destruction." She said looking away with a rather angry look in her green eyes. She looked back at him and continued on, "But because he wanted your bride for his own, he decided that the only way of winning her heart, would be to turn you back into the beast inside, knowing that once he proved to me that you had in fact gone back to your old ways, that I would punish you once more. Removing you from Belle's life forever."

"Wait…what did he do?" he asked beginning to believe the lady's words.

"He told me that you had turned back into a beast on the inside and that you were leaving your position as prince in the castle. However he failed to fill me in on the fact that this was all his evil doing. So I met you a few hours later, just after you left the castle and cast yet another spell upon you. A spell which would make you forget your life…so that you would not go back to the castle ever again, and that was when my brother took over and informed me that he was in fact taking charge of the castle and that Belle was his. He called in the favour which I had promised him and said that if I was to tell anyone of his evildoings that he would make my situation worse." She finished.

As soon as he heard Belle he felt everything fall into place.

"Did you just say…Belle?" he questioned as he walked towards the lady.

"Yes…she was your love…the one who broke the spell…the one who…" she started but was suddenly cut off.

"…was in my dreams…the one I heard the men in the pub talking about. The beast they talked of…that was me." He finished off for her.

He raised his right hand to his forehead and leaned on the head of his chair with his left hand for support. He felt rather faintish.

"So…what happened to her?" He said waiting for an answer.

"Well…because I cast the memory spell upon you, it also affected Belle's memory as well. I couldn't have her coming after you. So she's been living in the castle with my brother for quite some time now." She replied.

He felt like fainting, hoping that this was some sort of nightmare. None of this made any sense to him. He may have known this _'Belle' _once before, but he had been living without her for the last three years, having no memories at all. He didn't know her anymore. So it was perfectly normal for him to not be fuming at the thought of Belle in the arms of someone else. To be living with someone else who seemed to love her, as much he might have a long time ago.

"I'm sorry…I…I don't know what to say to any of this. I was just a normal man a few minutes ago and now you are trying to convince me, that I was in love with this girl that I've been dreaming about and that she's living with some psycho…and that I am to return to my duties because I'm a prince. " He said in a rush as he paced the room.

"I know that it's somewhat of a shock…" she trailed off, only to be cut off by him.

"Somewhat of a shock...this is absolutely ridiculous…if any of this is true, where have you been for the last three years? Why did you decide to come back now?" he questioned, growing angry and confused.

He may have had some dreams of this girl, who may have never even existed at all. But that didn't mean it had anything to do with him. This Enchantress could possibly have made him have the dreams and was going to use him for God knows what. He didn't know what her game was but he did know that she was obviously after him for a reason.

"Well I would have come back sooner, but I was imprisoned the night I cast the memory spell on you. The elders had found out what I had done. I had ruined everything you and Belle had and I had to pay the price." She explained sorrowfully.

"But if you were imprisoned, why is it that your brother wasn't as well? How did he get out of it?" he said eyeing her suspiciously, thinking that if this was all a cruel joke, and she didn't have a logical answer for each question, then he would show her the door and that would be the end of it.

"Because he is much more powerful then I and somehow managed to convince the elders, with one of his mind spells that he was in fact cleaning up the mess that I had created. He even managed to convince them that he was acting as Belle's permanent guardian until she found the next love of her life." She explained as though she had been rehearsing this very meeting with him, in front of a mirror over and over until she got it right. "That's all I found out from the elders before coming here."

"Wouldn't they have known what his game was after that night, seeing as they're obviously more experienced in the field of what you call magic." He asked, not sure if his question had sounded right.

"Well they should have picked up on it but…look I don't even know the full story myself. I was imprisoned since that night onwards. I don't know why the elders didn't pick up on it okay." She said rather frustrated as she held her head in her hand. She looked up, flashing her green eyes in his direction again and said more calmly, "All I know is…that I was told to fix this whole situation up as soon as possible. I was only released from prison, no longer then an hour ago and was told to come here. But I can't help you unless you believe me." She said looking at him pleadingly.

He gave her a look of disbelief, folded his arms and said, "I have no reason at all to believe anything that you have just said."

She gave him a look of defeat but suddenly her green eyes glimmered with hope, "Did you see the girl in your dreams?"

His eyes showed shock, wondering how she could have possibly known about his dreams. But he remembered what he had thought before. Perhaps the dreams were her doing.

"Yes I do…but I don't see why I should believe them either. You could have planted them in my mind, for…God knows why." He shouted, throwing his arms up in the air, walking to lean up against the wall, feeling that the conversation would be going for quite some time.

"I couldn't have…I've been in prison until now." She replied simply.

"Then how did you know about them?" he asked annoyed that he wasn't getting the answers he was looking for.

"I was shown by the elders through a sphere, after leaving prison, before I came here. They gave me a brief look at your current state." She said as she fiddled with her wand.

He nodded as if almost believing her but shook his head in confusion once more. "I don't even know if all this talk of you being in prison and now you've come back to fix my life, _'story'_, is even the truth." He said becoming tired of her annoying attempts to convince him that he wasn't really just some ordinary man. That he had an enchanting past of magic, romance and evil sorcerers stealing his true love. No. He was just your average Joe that enjoyed living by himself, away from everyone and everything.

"It is the truth. I swear on my position as an Enchantress." She said floating towards him in the air.

He backed up against the wall a bit, startled by this sudden move. He frowned and said, "Where's the proof? Prove to me that what you say is real and I swear on my position as a man, that I will bend down on my knees and beg for forgiveness." He said giving her a look, which clearly said he still wasn't buying her story.

"I'm afraid that the only way I can prove myself to you, is for you to come back with me to the castle you used to live in. When we get there I will show you the girl." She said quite forcefully, as she floated just inches from his face, looking into his blue eyes strangely.

He seemed to consider this for a minute, thinking that maybe it would be wise to do as she said. What if she was to suddenly turn him into a toad or something horrible for the rest of his life, if he didn't do as she said? The look in her green eyes seemed very threatening and yet very longing at the same time.

The Enchantress's gaze seemed to hypnotize him and before he knew what he was doing, he slowly held out a hand to shake. "Deal." He said quietly as he stared into her eyes, feeling his doubtful thoughts leave his mind, quicker then they had arrived.

* * *

_**A/N: **Hey everyone. I read over my chapters once more and realised that from this chapter onwards things didn't seem to make sense even to me. I apologise. I've had a lot on my mind lately. It's not an excuse for my chapters being so crazy though. I should have waited until I was fully focused on what I was writing again. I've had my mind spinning with work and TAFE and school, and my nana getting sick and all. But I hope that my alteration to the story makes more sense. If it still is a huge mess, please tell me in a review. At the beginning of this story I really was on the ball, but certain things happening lately have seemed to affect only this story. Don't ask me why. I'm doing fine in my other stories. I don't know why my mind is having spasms about this particular story. Anyway…hope I got my act together in this chap._

_Oh and I'm gonna do a disclaimer thing: I don't own anything, but I do own the evil guy. Hehehe!_

_Yunie Tidus_


	9. Chapter 9: Careful Now

**Chapter 9: Careful Now**

The next day it was dawn and the prince was riding on Philippe along the dirt road, which led away from the town which had been his home for the past three years, guided by the Enchantress who had transformed herself into a black Australian Kelpie, so as to be less conspicuous. They were heading back to the prince's old castle and they hadn't talked much since the night before.

The prince felt strange after last night. He wished now that he hadn't agreed to bend down on his knees and beg forgiveness if she was in fact telling the truth. Because now it occurred to him that she might be serious after all. What if she was leading him back to his old life as a prince? However, he still refused to believe that he was ever under a spell and was once the ruler of a kingdom.

So why was he following her? Why did he even agree to let her prove herself? Was it because she had forced him to with a spell? Or did he feel somewhat bad for her and just wanted to help her in this sticky situation? Well he highly doubted the last possibility, because he had no desire whatsoever, to risk his neck for some Enchantress who claimed that she had ruined his life and needed his assistance in fixing it for good.

He decided to question her further and asked, "Miss, or Enchantress, whatever you prefer, can you tell me where we're headed exactly?"

She lifted her head up, staring at him with those emerald eyes. She opened her mouth and began to talk very well through her dog mouth. "We're going back to your kingdom, which is exactly a weeks walk if we only stop for the night." She explained.

His eyes widened and he yelled, "Are you serious? Why don't you just use your magic to fly us there now? I can't wait a whole week!" he finished gazing at her in disbelief.

When she didn't answer he thought to himself, _this is some kind of trick. I'm not sticking around to find out what's going to happen to me._

So he pulled on Philippe's reigns quickly and began to gallop back the way he had come, faster then ever, daring not to turn around, afraid that she would come after him. He was only riding for about ten seconds, when up ahead in the middle of the road stood a little blonde girl crying and screaming, covering her eyes, as the prince was speeding towards her. His eyes widened in horror, thinking that he wouldn't be able to slow Philippe down in time. So he steered off to the side of the road and ended up falling off Philippe's back and tumbling down into a river, only receiving a few cuts and bruises.

He lay there for a while wincing as he tried to move. The little girl on the road suddenly stopped crying and removed her hands from her eyes, flashing them open to reveal bright green eyes. She wore an evil smile as she skipped down to see the prince. She ran down the hill to stand above him, looking down into his eyes with a fake expression of concern.

"Are you alright sir?" she asked angelically.

He stared up at her and smiled, "That was close you know. Where are your parents?" he asked, thinking that it was strange that someone as young as her was out here alone.

She began to laugh strangely until her voice cracked into the evil voice of a woman. The girl suddenly transformed back into the Enchantress, in a flame of green smoke. When all was revealed she said, "Boo!" which literally did scare the prince out of his wits.

He scrambled back against the hill behind him, looking at her with fright. He was trapped, she could do anything to keep him with her, if she wanted to it seemed.

She bent down to whisper to his face, "Now follow me and stop trying to run away. I'm not that bad am I?" she asked giving him a questioning look, which practically forced him to whisper, "No."

She smiled and stood up happily running up the hill and transforming back into her dog figure once more. The prince felt that he had no other option but to do as she said. So he got up reluctantly and trudged up the hill, meeting up with Philippe again.

"Come on boy. I think we better be really careful from now on." He whispered into the horse's ear.

Philippe nodded his head up and down, shaking his mane furiously, as if to say he understood.

Once they caught up with her again, the prince saw that the Enchantress was waiting a few metres away, staring at him with those large green eyes serenely, only to blink and run off down the road again, leading the way. She would know if he tried to run away again. She had him under her control now. He wouldn't want to pull a stunt like that again.

* * *

_**A/N: **Okay chapter 9 has been reposted and hopefully my new path of destruction will wrap up nicely in the end._

_**P.S. **I changed my pen name for the last time for an important purpose._

_Yunie Tidus_


	10. Chapter 10: Close Encounter

**Chapter 10: Close Encounter**

That afternoon the prince sat under a tree in a place that had no particular name. He was getting ready for the night. The Enchantress had gone off somewhere over the mountain situated on his left. They would be journeying that way once again in the morning. He looked over to where Philippe was tied up against the tree on his right. The loyal horse was grazing lazily over the grassy patch that surrounded him.

He looked back to his left to see that the Enchantress had just appeared over the mountain coming back his way.

He saw something in her mouth and as she got closer he realised it was a rabbit, situated between her sharp teeth.

Once she arrived at his side she let it drop from her mouth and said, "There I caught you dinner."

The prince looked into her large emerald-like eyes and said, "I'm not hungry."

He then walked over to lay a blanket over Philippe's back.

"You must eat something. We've been journeying all day." she replied annoyed with him.

He turned around annoyed and said, "Look…I don't even want to go back to this life that I supposedly lived. It was a long time ago." He said angrily, as he slumped to the ground looking away from her.

There was an awkward silence for a few minutes, which the Enchantress broke.

"I know you feel distant from her at the moment, but deep down under all the confusion and hurt…you know you still have feelings for her, and she still has feelings for you." She said soothingly.

"But I don't even remember a thing from my past. All I've had is dreams. That's it. Nothing else." He said bashing his right fist against the rough bark of the tree next to him.

The Enchantress jumped back a bit startled, as it was in her nature as a dog. She stepped forward and said, "Don't blame yourself, you were under the influence of both my brother and I."

"Yes that's another thing. Why did you even believe your brother if you knew he was a wrongdoer in the first place? What were you thinking when you supposedly made him check up on how I was doing?" he said confused and frustrated.

"I honestly don't know why I believed him. But I do know that I can't change the past. What is done is done. All that I can do now is to try and fix the future."

"Yes that may be. But what will happen when we arrive at the castle? Will I suddenly remember everything? Will everything go back to the way it was?" he asked her with a questioning look.

"I'm not sure. I guess that it is possible." She said sounding unsure of herself.

He looked up and said, "What kind of Enchantress are you? You don't even know what is going to come of all this. It's your spell…why don't you know anything? " He yelled frustratingly.

"How dare you. Here I am, devoting myself to fixing your life and all you do is complain and criticize." She shouted giving him an evil glare with her green eyes.

He walked over to Philippe and faced his back to the Enchantress.

"You are only helping me because it will benefit you. You don't care if I am happy or not. You just want your conscience to be clear so that you are off the hook from those elders of yours." He replied with a hint of sadness in his voice.

"That is not true." She said as little sparks of green flared out from her eyes dangerously.

He noticed this from the corner of his eyes and said, "I know that you won't hurt me. I'm too valuable to you. If you hurt me, that means your plan will have failed. The elders will have you locked away again, will they not?"

She seemed somewhat surprised at his realisation. She didn't know how to answer back to this comment so she simply said, "Get some sleep. We start early tomorrow." She said curling up next to the tree and propping her head up on her two front paws.

He smiled to himself mischievously. He had gotten to her. In a way he had the power of her. If she did anything to him that would hurt the plan, she would have to pay the consequences.

* * *

_That night the prince had a terrible time trying to sleep. He closed his exhausted eyes trying to drift off to slumber land. But he sensed something was not right. He lifted his eyelids open to see that he was having hallucinations. He saw a beautiful woman lying on top of him. She gave him a look of curiosity and moved a few strands of hair from his face. He held onto his breath in shock and desperately wanted to believe that she was in actual fact there. He reached up hesitantly to touch her face to find that his hand was caressing her flushed cheeks. He couldn't believe it as he ran his hand through her dark brown hair, watching as it fell beautifully over her face once more. She closed her eyes peacefully, only to reveal to him a few moments' later large green emeralds that gazed into his eyes transfixing him.

* * *

_

He was so shocked that he suddenly sat up abruptly gasping for air. He was sweating all over. He turned to face the Enchantress's dog form sleeping peacefully a few metres away form him. He eyed her cautiously before rolling over onto his side and falling back to sleep.

The Enchantress's eyes suddenly flashed open and a look of mischievousness glistened in her eyes.

* * *

_**A/N: **Okay I hope this satisfy's most people. Enjoy. Read and Review please.

* * *

_

**_Yunie Tidus_**


	11. Chapter 11: She was right

**Chapter 11: She was right**

Tonight was the night that the prince was to meet up with his past. He had arrived at the castle that he did not recognise at all.

The Enchantress who was leading him was at the gate staring up at the castle.

She then turned around and whispered, "Well here we are."

He nodded and looked rather uncomfortable.

"You're not chickening out now are you?" she questioned, as she gazed at him.

He shook his head furiously and said, "No way. I've travelled for too long and too far."

She grinned and said, "Well go on."

He nodded and was careful to keep away from the Enchantress. Strange things had been happening to him the whole time that they had been together. Strange dreams of a green-eyed brown-haired girl had kept coming to him in his sleep.

He couldn't help but recognise the eyes as the Enchantress's. But he never said anything. It scared him enough as it was.

He reached the gate and pushed on it forcefully, as it creaked and moaned, sounding like it hadn't been opened in an age.

Finally after a few minutes the gate was wide enough for them to pass through. Philippe galloped through first and ran straight to the front lawn situated outside the castle.

"Well looks like someone missed home." The Enchantress stated.

The prince ignored her, still refusing to believe that he had lived in this place with a young woman three years ago.

He stared around for a moment and said, "So what do I do now?"

He looked down at her, only to see her roll her eyes and say, "Well how about you knock on the door and introduce yourself."

"What about your brother. What if he recognises me?" he said becoming a bit fearful.

"Don't worry…he will have me to answer to this time." She replied confidently.

He nodded and slowly began to make his way towards the castle. The moon was shining down on his skin harshly and he began to quicken his pace.

Finally he reached the large wooden door. He pressed his ear against it and listened for any noise.

Not a peep. So he hesitantly knocked on the door.

There was no reply, so he turned to the Enchantress with questioning eyes. She nodded for him to try again. So he shrugged and banged on the door this time. Still there was no reply.

So with a sudden burst of confidence, he pushed the door open, to reveal a dark gloomy hall. The wind blew through the open door and fluttered a few cobwebs in the corners of the hall.

A shiver came over his body as he entered the hall cautiously.

_What exactly was he supposed to do? Yell out. "Hey Belle remember me? I'm your husband who left you three years ago and left you with that evil guy, forgot about you, but now I'm back. Come here and reunite with me so we can live happily ever after."_

Not likely.

This place seemed deserted. There was no sound but the wind echoing through the halls.

He began to walk through the room hall and came to an empty room on his right. It appeared to be a lounge area of some sort.

* * *

**_Flash Back_**

_"Belle come here. I'm cold. I need someone to keep me warm." He said happily._

_Belle looked up from her position on the floor near the fireplace, up at her prince in his chair. She smiled and got up happily. She walked over to him and sat on his lap, wrapping her arms around his strong neck. He leant in to kiss her, which she accepted._

_**End Flash Back**_

* * *

The prince shook his head and mumbled, "What was that?"

He made his way towards a spiral of stairs up ahead. He began to climb them and turned around to see that the Enchantress was right behind him.

Her green eyes entrancing him.

He turned around with determination written all over his face. He quickened his pace and skipped every two stairs, as he headed towards a place that seemed to beckon him subconsciously.

His eyes were set on his path ahead. He turned left and began to make his way up another lot of stairs, until the view of two large doors up ahead caused him to slow down. His breathing was heavy and he stopped right outside the doors.

As he reached forward towards the doors, he looked down at his right hand, which was abnormally large and hairy. He pulled back quickly and inspected his hand more closely.

_What was that all about?_

The image left his mind and he pushed open the large doors to reveal a dark, dank room. Somehow it felt strangely familiar.

His eyes briefly rested on different objects around the room, until he saw a light up ahead. It appeared to be coming from a balcony. He began to push his way past the furniture and paintings in his way, until the light finally greeted him as the moonlight's glowing rays.

He stepped out onto the balcony and heard a howl, which seemed to come from a kind of…beast.

He backed away scared and ran into someone.

He turned around and saw a brunette girl, with hazel eyes staring up at him. She smiled peacefully and said, "I knew you would come back."

He gasped and said, "She was right."

"Who was right?" whispered the girl, her eyes flashing green sparks.

He gazed into them and whispered, "You were."

* * *

_**A/N: **Almost the end.__

* * *

_

**Yunie Tidus**


	12. Chapter 12: Reunited

**Chapter 12: Reunited**

Suddenly a girl from behind the girl in front ran onto the balcony and yelled, "Beast!"

He fixed his gaze on the new girl and noticed that she looked exactly like the one in front of him.

"Wh…What's going on?" he stuttered, completely confused by the whole situation.

"Beast…don't you remember me? It's me Belle." She cried as she tried to push her way past the other girl.

However she was pushed back onto the floor below and gazed upon with threatening green eyes.

Belle flinched as if she knew something bad was going to happen.

"Can someone please tell me what's going on?" Demanded the prince who was becoming frustrated.

The girl standing spun around and wrapped her arms around his neck and cried, "She is an impostor. She is trying to take me away for you."

He looked down at the girl on the floor as if to say, _is this true?_

She seemed to understand and shook her head slowly, as she let tears fall from her hazel eyes down her flushed cheeks.

He looked back at the girl in front and asked, "Are you Belle?"

She nodded and smiled happily.

But she couldn't have been the right Belle. If she was, she wouldn't have been so comfortable in this whole situation right now. And there was something about her eyes.

He pulled her arms away from his neck and saw a man run in behind them.

He suddenly felt a pang of jealousy and hate run through his veins as he glared into his eyes.

"What's going on here Belle?" Asked the man.

Both of the girls replied, "My husband has come back for me."

"Oh no you don't." said the man grabbing the girl on the ground by the wrist and dragging her away from the scene.

_Huh? Why was he taking that girl? It must be the real Belle. And this one is…_

The Belle in front of him suddenly flashed green eyes at him, causing him to step back towards the railing.

He looked down and saw that it was an awfully long drop.

He then looked back at the girl.

"Oh please…don't leave me again. I love you so much."

An idea suddenly came to his mind. He somehow knew that this Belle wasn't real.

"Um…so what will happen when the elders know that you've completed your mission?" he asked casually

"Oh, then everything will go back to normal I suppose and…" she gasped at her sudden words. "You tricked me." She growled.

He smiled evilly and replied, "Yes, funny how that worked out didn't it. Now if you'll excuse me I have to find the real Belle, before that brother of yours causes any more harm to her."

He didn't exactly remember Belle. But he knew that she was in danger, so there was no time to waste.

However he was stopped by this Belle blocking his entrance.

"Let me pass." He growled.

"I think not." She said transforming into her true from. "Why do you want to be with her anyway?"

He frowned and whispered, "I don't remember her all right. All I want to do is make sure that guy doesn't hurt her."

She nodded and let him pass, letting a gold tear fall down her cheek. As it landed on the ground it made a little clank, as it turned into a tiny piece of hard gold.

He was now running down the stairs after the cries of the girl.

_Don't worry Belle I'm coming.

* * *

_

A few minutes later he was outside the front of the castle, searching the grounds for a sign of life.

Finally a man approached him, with Belle in his grasp.

"You can't have her. Belle is mine." He whispered, with an evil grin.

The prince frowned and said, "Hand her over to me. You are already in trouble with the elders as it is."

However this seemed to have no affect on the man. He just smiled and said, "Fool. I will never hand Belle over to you."

"Look…please…for once do the right thing. Hand her over to me. Can't you see she's petrified of you?" The prince informed him.

Belle was gazing up at her prince longingly. But he didn't feel he could return the gaze.

"All right. We'll fight for her. How about that?" the man asked.

Believing that he had no other choice, the prince nodded and sighed, "All right. But if I win, you must hand Belle over to me. Is that understood?"

The man nodded and pushed Belle off to the side forcefully.

He held out his right hand and a red fireball lit up and just as he was about to strike, Philippe galloped up from behind and trampled on top of him violently.

The prince ran to Belle, moving her out of harms way.

When Philippe backed off, the man was groaning in pain, clutching his ribs and bleeding, in several places on his arms and face.

The prince and Belle both watched as a flicker of green light appeared from the man's body. Then a few moments later, his body vanished and the Enchantress lay in his place.

Shocked, the prince slowly walked towards her and bent down to look over her exhausted body, that didn't seem to be hurt at all.

"What…" he trailed off.

She gazed up at him and smiled, placing her right hand on his cheek, "I tried. I tried. But your love for Belle cannot be removed by a simple spell. I see that now."

"What did you try?" he asked, as he stared at her slowly vanishing body.

She closed her eyes and said, "I tried to make you love me as much as I love you."

He gasped in shock and fell onto his behind beside her.

She then held out her hand and a mirror appeared immediately.

"I believe this belongs to you. I took it from The West Wing so that I could look at you every day. I wanted too much and almost ruined you." She breathed quietly.

He took it and replied, "I hate you for whatever you've done."

She then smiled and whispered, "That is understandable. Perhaps one day you will forgive me. As I have forgiven you for never being able to love me."

Suddenly she vanished and all traces of her were gone.

With that he fell to the ground motionless, causing Belle to run to him frantically.

She ran her hands over his body, not knowing whether he was dead or alive.

"Please don't leave me. I love you." She whispered, as she laid her cheek down on his chest.

Suddenly his chest lifted as he breathed in a deep breath of air. His blue eyes flashed open and he gazed down at Belle, who had now lifted her head to look at him in shock.

He remembered everything.

"Beast?" she whispered questioningly, with tears streaming down her cheeks.

He stared at her for a moment before nodding and embracing her in his arms.

She cried with happiness and listened as he said, "I love you."

There they stayed for a while until suddenly, little sparks of gold began to shimmer in the air. They both looked up as the castle suddenly started to glow brightly and looked like it had come back to life. Then a few moments later both Cogsworth and Lumiere came scurrying outside to see Belle and the prince lying on the ground in an intimate embrace.

"Awe…look at the two little love birds." Commented Lumiere.

Cogsworth however started to push him back inside hurriedly saying, "Leave the master and the girl alone."

Both Belle and the prince laughed humorously before Belle said, "Beast…"

"Yes Belle." He replied looking at her seriously.

"Can we forget everything that's happened and try to get on with our lives again?" she asked quietly.

He smiled and nodded, "Yes Belle."

They both then leaned in to kiss each other passionately, bringing an end to the tale of The Beast's Beauty.

* * *

_**A/N: **And that is the end of The Beast's Beauty. How was it? Was it too quick? I'm sorry if it was. But I have loads of work at home right now. TAFE, school, my traineeship, and I was afraid that if I didn't end it now, I wouldn't end it at all._

_Hopefully next year when I am out of school, I will have loads of more time to do more stories. Until then I hope you enjoyed my story.

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_

**_Yunie Tidus_**


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